Expressionist Opera in the Aftermath of the First World War and the Weimar Republic

本项目将探讨表现主义歌剧在魏玛文化中的地位。按照标准的说法，20世纪20年代德国的表现主义受到了“新客观主义”（Neue Sachlichkeit）的直接挑战，它以一种对大众的呼吁来解决当前的社会问题。这导致了Zeitoper（时代歌剧）的日益流行，它与这些明显的反表现主义思想产生了共鸣。然而，表现主义歌剧在彼得·盖伊（Peter Gay）之后的魏玛文化中仍然占有突出地位，伯格的《沃泽克》（1925）等作品与观众建立了联系，并在商业上取得了成功。然而，与Zeitoper相比，魏玛时代的表现主义歌剧受到了有限的学术关注，特别是在他们的文化背景方面。研究这些作品将有助于形成对挑战主流叙事的时期的更全面的描述。为了衡量表现主义歌剧在魏玛文化中的地位，我将探讨三种表现主义歌剧的接受情况，考虑周围对表现主义的文化辩论，并研究对表现主义歌剧和Zeitoper的比较态度。这个项目也将考虑战争的恐怖如何影响人们对表现主义的态度。歌剧研究是我文学学士学位课程中歌剧与政治、将歌剧带入生活和革命歌剧三个模块的重要组成部分，后者是我和我注册的模块一起参加的。我的MRes是由中部城市硕士奖学金资助的，也以歌剧研究为中心。因此，我对歌剧的历史和周围的文化辩论的知识是广泛的，这将是开创性的理解我的博士案例研究的关系到他们的背景。我最近完成了一篇硕士论文，探讨了Bartók歌剧“蓝胡子的城堡”（1911）中的表现主义特征，其中我对如何在歌剧中识别表现主义提出了质疑。通过接受研究和形式分析，我的博士学位将以这项研究为基础，致力于对20世纪初的表现主义歌剧进行更清晰的定义。我最近参加了一部实验歌剧的全球首演，这部歌剧使用技术来增强观众的互动；结合我的学术知识，这让我从多个角度对歌剧有了开阔的视野。

This project will explore the place of expressionist opera in Weimar culture. According to the standard account, expressionism in 1920s Germany was directly challenged by the Neue Sachlichkeit (new objectivity), which addressed current social issues in an appeal to the masses. This led to the increased popularity of the Zeitoper (opera of the times), which resonated with these apparently anti-expressionist ideas. Expressionist operas, however, were still prominent in what, following Peter Gay, has become known as Weimar culture and works such as Berg's 'Wozzeck' (1925) connected with audiences and proved commercially successful. However, Weimar-era expressionist operas have received limited scholarly attention compared to the Zeitoper, particularly in regard to their cultural context. Studying these works will help form a more comprehensive account of the period that challenges the dominant narrative. In order to gauge the position of expressionist opera within Weimar culture, I will explore the reception of three expressionist operas, consider the surrounding cultural debates towards expressionism, and examine comparative attitudes towards expressionist opera and Zeitoper. This project will also consider how the horrors of the war affected people's attitudes towards expressionism.Opera studies formed a significant part of my BA in the modules Opera and Politics, Bringing Opera to Life and Revolutionary Opera, the latter of which I attended alongside my enrolled modules. My MRes, which is funded by the Midlands4Cities Masters Studentship, is also centred around opera studies. As a result, my knowledge of the history of opera and the surrounding cultural debates is extensive, which will be seminal to understanding my PhD case studies in relation to their context. I recently completed a Masters essay that explores expressionist traits within Bartók's opera, 'Bluebeard's Castle' (1911), in which I challenge how expressionism can be identified within opera. Through reception studies and formal analysis, my PhD will build on this research by working towards a clearer definition of expressionist opera in the early twentieth century. I recently performed in the world premiere of an experimental opera that used technology to enhance audience interaction; combined with my academic knowledge, this has given me an open-minded insight into opera from multiple perspectives.